A lot depends on the number of people you want to take with you. We had a Carolina Skiff J16 (max hp = 30) with a 25 hp Mercury on it that we loved. Top speed was about 27 mph, but it was truly a 2 person boat.

We outgrew that, and moved up to a 21 foot Carolina Skiff with a 115 hp (that is the max) Johnson. We really love this boat! It weighs practically nothing, which translates into lots of speed (we have gone up to 50+ mph), or good fuel economy at a more modest speed, say around 30-35 mph. Really, the optimum speed is right at 40 mph. This boat is also rated to hold a ton of people, and you can configure it as your needs dictate. They appear on the used market down here.

BTW, we used both boats on the Texas Gulf Coast, but they would work well in a lake environment I would think.

i was recently down around captiva in a small deep v boat and found we got pretty wet if the waves got up just a little.

was wondering if the carolinas tended to be wet, seeing they dont appear to have a deep hull or terribly high sides? i currently have a small tiller skiff that looks like a carolina and i dont go anywhere choppy, 1 because it is so small and 2 its shallow sides.

i was thinking about a 18' Maratime Skiff, because of the higher sides and they seem to be designed for choppy water, but am still interested in the carolina boats

You will get wet in the small Carolina (the J-16). The sides are low; Carolina make another 16' boat with much higher sides, and it is rated for a larger engine.

We have found our 21' DLX to be very dry. Being a flat bottomed boat, it is a rougher ride than a v-hull design. However, the trade off is that we can trim the motor up and putt-putt into less than a foot of water. You can also pole into very skinny water (6-8", or so, depending on load). This is our kind of fishing, so blasting 20 miles offshore in a rough chop is not a priority.

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